Below is a list of rainforest words and their meanings. You may see some these words in the pathfinder or use these key terms to search for more information:

• Amazonia (or the Amazon basin): An area in South America that contains the largest rainforest in the world.

• biodiversity: (short for biological diversity) A wide variety of plant and animal life that inhabits (lives in) a particular location.

• canopy: The blanket of leaves formed by the crowns (tops) of rainforest trees.

• conservation: Protecting, preserving and managing the Earth's natural resources and the environment.

• (The) Daintree: the lowland rainforest region bordering the Daintree River and part of the Wet Tropics of Queensland World Heritage area.

• ecosystem: All of the living and non-living things of a particular area and the interactions between them.

• emergents: The very high trees in the rainforest, which emerge (pop out) above the canopy.

• temperate: A moderate climate that is neither very hot nor very cold, located in the temperate zone (in Australia, south of the Tropic of Capricorn).

• tropical: Located between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer, either side of the Equator.

• understorey: Low-level growth in rainforests, especially the plants and seedlings protected by the canopy.